More Info on Teens and "Sexting"

More Info on Teens and "Sexting"

The
stories of teens sending provocative photos of themselves via cell
phones, and being surprised that they end up being distributed around
the Internet continues. I've posted several times on this before (see
my earlier posthereand
follow the other links on that post.) Again, these stories serve to
underscore the need for parents to discuss this issue with their teens!

Remember
the 15-year-old Ohio girl who faced child pornography charges for
distributing naked cellphone photos of herself? There comes news that
the charges were dropped, and the case will be dismissed if she
completes a diversion program. But, most interesting of all, she
revealed a typically teenage oh-by-the-way revelation during the
hearing: Three of the male students who received her digital offerings
also sent her back X-rated snapshots of themselves; now they might face
charges, too.

That's not all in the way of teens being punished
for "sexting," as it is now being called. Two teenage girls in Seattle
were suspended from their cheerleading team after school officials
discovered that they had taken nude cellphone photos of themselves that
were circulated among students. One girl sent a topless photo to her
then-boyfriend, which was "accidentally" leaked to other students; the
other had a female friend take a nude snapshot, which also mysteriously
ended up in other students' hands.

Now the girls' parents are
suing the school, accusing "administrators of violating the girls' due
process rights, needlessly sharing the photos with other school staff
members and failing to promptly report the matter to police as possible
child pornography," reports the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The school
did not punish the students -- including a reportedly large number of
football players -- who were in possession of the photos.